there are no checklists in Christianity

I had a talk with a young man I’m mentoring and he told me many of his friends seem to think there’s a checklist to Christianity. You have to attend church weekly, be part of a Bible study group, you can’t cuss, you’re not allowed to go to clubs, etc. I told him that’s just for people who don’t know how to be themselves.

Now, I get that we create mental lists for ourselves of what we want for our lives. But to think everyone else has to have the same list in order to be “accepted” is just naïve. Real life doesn’t work that way. Besides, if God is the god we believe Him to be—a deity that accepts everyone as they are—then there are no checklists because everyone is so different.

Consider this scripture:

God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’

Acts 13:22

This is the same David that slayed the Philistine giant Goliath (1 Samuel 17). The same David that sent one of his soldiers to the front line to be killed so he could have his wife (2 Samuel 11). And finally, the same David that God did not allow to build a temple for the ark of the covenant because he killed so many men (1 Chronicles 17:4 and 1 Chronicles 22:6-8).

Yet, despite all David’s antics God found David to be a man after His own heart. I call this Davidic love. This means, you can literally sin before God but love Him fiercely and be considered a person after God’s own heart.

This is not a “get out of jail free” card. God will allow everyone to suffer the consequences of their choices. What it means to me is your obedience to God matters more than anything you do. Regardless if you sin or not. But if God calls you to do something and you don’t do it, that’s when it’s no longer Davidic love. It’s a tough concept to grasp, but suffice it to say loving God fiercely is what sets you apart from the average believer.

When it comes to loving God, what matters more than anything is obedience to His call and will for your life. It’s way beyond checklists, goal setting, have to’s, and have nots. It’s all about doing what God calls you to do. When you do that you’re acting in Davidic love.

“David’s reaction to God’s nixing his plan is a model for us. When things do not go as we planned—when God closes a door—we should continue to praise the Lord and then move on in a new direction. Rather than complain about what we can’t do, we should do what we can, giving God the glory.”

https://www.gotquestions.org/David-temple.html, Why didn’t God allow David to build the temple?, Got Questions, 1/4/19.

#davidiclove #nochecklists